Apparatus for Improved Live Table Game

ABSTRACT

A system comprising a camera and a processor is programmed to identify cards dealt at a gaming table. By identifying the cards as they are dealt, the security of the gaming table may be improved. In addition, new betting opportunities may be provided based upon the increased information made available. The system may also be used to directly award prizes to players. The prizes may be awarded in conjunction with or independent of traditional game play.

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.17/391,932 entitled “Apparatus for Improved Live Table Game” filed onAug. 2, 2021 and which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) based onProvisional Application No. 63/068,946, filed Aug. 21, 2020, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an improved apparatus for use on a casino tablegame, particularly a game that uses playing cards. There are a number ofcasino table games. Although the traditional games of black jack andbaccarat are the most popular, there are many others such as pai gow, 3Hand Hold 'Em™, Three Card Poker™, Crazy For Poker™, Ultimate Texas Hold'Em™ and others. Each of these games is typically played with one ormore standard decks of playing cards.

A standard deck of playing cards consists of fifty-two cards dividedinto four suits—clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Each suit consistsof thirteen ranked cards designated two through ten, plus jack, queen,king and ace. One or more jokers may also be added to the standard deck.When multiple standard decks are combined, the combination willcollectively be referred to as a deck. Some games may add or removeadditional cards. For instance Spanish 21, a variant of black jack,removes the tens from the deck. Typically the suits and ranks of thecards that form the deck are known to the players prior to the gamebeginning.

The basic object of most casino table games is for the player and house(represented by a dealer) to each make a hand. If the house's hand isbetter than the player's hand, evaluated using a predetermined set ofrules, the player typically loses his wager. If the player's hand isbetter than the house's, the player typically is awarded a prize basedon his wager. Wagers may be made before the start of each hand and maybe increased or decreased during the play of a hand. In order for thegame to be profitable for the casino, the rules have to provide thehouse with an edge over the player.

Although the cards forming the deck are known to the players, the orderin which the cards are arranged in the deck typically is not known. Thisintroduces the element of chance to the game. The order is typicallyrandomized through shuffling. Shuffling may be done by hand typically bya dealer or by a machine. In games where the player makes a strategicdecision, the more information the player has about the order of thedeck, the better decision the player will be able to make. This in turnwill lower the house's edge. Therefore, after the cards are shuffled,the dealer must take care to not let the players gain information aboutthe order of the deck.

Of course, as players see more of the cards in the deck, they naturallylearn more about the remainder of the deck. In games such as black jack,several hands or rounds of hands may be played before the deck isreshuffled. As more rounds are played, the players have more informationand the house's edge may go down. Players who are paying close attentionto the cards played in previous hands of black jack may even be able touse strategies that result in a negative house edge for hands dealt fromthe deck if the ratios of certain cards changes from the initialstandard deck. This most frequently occurs later in the deck. Insituations where the ratio of certain cards is in the players' favor,players may greatly increase the amount of their wagers. Casinos oftenrefer to these players as advantage players and may prohibit their playin order to protect the casino's profits.

Casinos take many steps to prevent players from gaining “unfair”information about the deck. For instance, a cut card may be employedthat designates a lower portion of the deck as unusable. Also, thecasino may make use of a shoe that holds the deck securely in place,while obscuring the players' view of the cards. As dealers are naturallylimited in the number of decks they can hold in their hands at a time(typically no more than two), shoes are most often used in situationswhere more than one standard deck is used. The shoe may hold as many aseight or more standard decks (i.e., 416 cards). The shoe may beintegrated with an automatic shuffler or separate from it. Someshufflers available perform shuffling by capturing a single card andthen placing it in a randomly selected position in the deck. At the timethe card is captured, it may be held in place for a camera that allows aprocessor to determine the suit and rank of the card. Shufflers of thistype therefore know the entire order of the deck once it is completelyshuffled.

In some games, the house's edge in the game is large enough that theplayer may be awarded a multiple of his wager in certain situations.Players enjoy receiving multiplied returns on their wagers. The house'sedge is rarely great enough to support a multiplier of greater thanthree however, and almost never greater than ten. As the house's edge isincreased, the players win much less often and view the game as unfairlyweighted to the house's advantage and the game becomes less enjoyablefor players. Thus, to provide enjoyable table games, casinos mustbalance the player's desire to receive a multiplied prize against theplayer's desire to play a game where the house's edge is perceived assmall.

One of the ways casinos achieve the desired balance is to awardmultipliers based on the probability of the hand made by the players orthe house or a combination thereof. The casino may also divide theplayers' wagers into primary wagers and secondary or side wagers. Themultiplier may be paid based on the player's primary wager (typicallythe wager the player makes that their hand will be better than thehouse's) or it may be paid on the side wager. The advantage of using aside wager is that higher multipliers may be paid while maintaining thehouse's edge. For instance, if a five-card stud table game pays evenmoney on a primary wager and the player wins 48% of the time, thehouse's edge would be 4% (i.e., 1−(2×0.48)=0.04). It will be understoodby those skilled in the art that if the house's edge is 4%, the returnto the player is the remainder from 100%, or 96%. Any additionalmultiplier payout made on the primary wager would reduce the house'sedge further. So if a multiplier were to be paid for a player receivinga royal flush, and only a royal flush, it would be limited toapproximately 13,025 to 1 (i.e., 4% of 325,635). As additional handsother than a royal flush are included in the group of hands that awardmultipliers, the maximum multiplier would be reduced even further. Byawarding multipliers on a side wager versus a primary wager, the houseis no longer constrained by the 4% edge associated with the primarywager.

With sufficiently rare hands, the casino can also award a player aprogressive prize. A progressive prize is generally understood to be alarge prize (typically the largest prize available at a given game) withan amount that is increased over time. This is typically done by takinga small portion of each wager made and adding it to the progressiveamount. Other progressive prizes may increment solely on the amount oftime it takes for a player to win it. Still further, progressive prizeshave been suggested that decrease over time or that reset to a minimumvalue once a maximum value is reached. Typically the progressive prizecould only be won by a player at a table game by achieving the raresthand possible (e.g., a royal flush in five-card stud). To furtherincrease the odds, some casinos have specified additional restraints,such as suit (e.g., a royal flush in spades in the five-card stud game).In such instances, lesser or more commonly occurring hands (e.g., aroyal flush in any of the other three suits) may be awarded a smallpercentage, perhaps 10%, of the progressive. By requiring a rarer handto win the progressive prize, casinos ensure that the progressive prizewill grow for a longer period of time. Players typically are attractedto games with larger progressive prizes. However, it is believed thatplayers also become frustrated if the progressive prize is too difficultto achieve. Therefore, once again casinos are left to find the bestbalance for a game that is profitable to the casino and enjoyable to theplayer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention details a method and apparatus that improves onthe prior art for table game security and deck protection. It alsopresents new opportunities for wagers that can be added to known tablegames using the apparatus. Although the preferred embodiment of theinvention will be described as it relates to the table game of blackjack, it should be understood that it could be applied to any tablegame.

The apparatus consists of a viewing window over which cards will bepassed by a dealer as the cards are dealt from the deck. A high speedvideo camera is positioned so that the cards are visible to the camerathrough the viewing window. The camera is operatively attached to aprocessor having a memory. The processor determines the rank and suit ofthe cards as they are dealt. Preferably the rank and/or suit of the cardis sent to a central server. When cards are dealt from a shoe, theviewing window can be placed in the shoe itself or the viewing windowmay be part of a cradle designed to hold the shoe. Alternatively, theviewing window may be placed directly in the table top.

By monitoring the cards that have been dealt from the deck, either theprocessor or the central server can determine if the remaining deck isstatistically more favorable to either the house or the player. If thedeck reaches a point where there is no longer a house edge, it may alertthe casino's personnel to take some action. Typically this action willbe to monitor for players placing unusually large bets. Such large betsare indicative of advantage players (aka card counters) and the casinomay desire to refuse such player's action. “Count” in this sense shouldbe understood to monitor and track cards that have been played orremoved from a deck so that the statistical characteristics of theremaining deck are more accurately known.

Further, by monitoring the cards dealt, the casino may alter the rulesof the game in a manner that is predetermined and known to the playersin advance. These alterations may be done in order to make the game moreattractive and exciting to players while maintaining the house edge. Forinstance in the game of black jack, a natural black jack (i.e., a playerreceives an ace a face card, which includes ten's, in their first twocards) may pay 3:2. So if a player's primary wager is $10 and theyreceive a black jack, they are paid $15. In some casinos, to increasethe house edge, the payout is 6:5, so the player wagering $10 receives$12. The odds of being dealt a black jack in the first hand dealt from adeck vary slightly based on the number of decks used. For a single deckgame, the odds are 32/663 or approximately 4.827%. For a six deck game,the odds are 576/12,129 or approximately 4.749%. However, these odds maychange dramatically as hands are played and cards are dealt from thedeck. For instance, in a six deck game with 100 cards remaining in thedeck consisting of two aces and eight face cards, the odds of beingdealt black jack are 8/2,475 or approximately 0.323%. Therefore, ratherthan paying 3:2, the casino could profitably pay much more, perhaps30:2. Now the player wagering $10 could be paid $150. The processor ofthe present invention could calculate these payouts dynamically andpublish the payouts for various hands on an associated screen that maybe visible to the players.

In addition to altering payouts made on a primary wager, the presentinvention lends itself to making side wagers that can be easily added toany game. And, as in the black jack example, the payout of the sidewager may be dynamically calculated based on the cards remaining in thedeck. The present invention may also trigger payouts directly. Forinstance, the processor may determine that dealing the eight of spadeswill trigger a bonus on any active side wager. The bonus may bedetermined by the suit or rank of the card following the trigger card.In such an embodiment, the processor, through its associated screen,could inform the dealer and players when a side bet wager is to be paidas well as the amount of the payment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first table layout that may be used for implementing thepresent invention on a black jack table game.

FIG. 2A is perspective view of a cradle incorporating the presentinvention with a shoe inserted.

FIG. 2B is perspective view of a cradle incorporating the presentinvention without a shoe inserted.

FIG. 3 is a cut-away side view of a cradle incorporating the presentinvention.

FIG. 4A is an alternative embodiment of the present invention where theviewing window is located on the table's surface adjacent to a shoe.

FIG. 4B is an alternative embodiment of the present invention where theviewing window is located on the table's surface directly below thepoint where the dealer may hold a deck of cards

FIG. 5 is logic diagram for an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention where the rules of a standard game are adjusted between handsto maintain a desired house edge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the present invention may utilize a gaming table 50 asshown in FIG. 1 . The layout for table 50 is designed to accommodate ablack jack game. A dealer employed by the casino stands behind the table50 with access to a tray 55. The tray 55 holds chips of variousdenominations used to pay out players' winning wagers. Each player sitsat the table 50 behind a player position 60. Each player position 60also has an associated primary wager circle 64. Each player position 60may also have an associated secondary wager circle 65 where playersplace their secondary wagers on the hand. The table 50 may also beequipped with a video display 80. The video display 80 is used todisplay information to the players.

Play of the game begins by each player placing a wager in the primarywager circles 64 of their player position 60. The players may also placea wager in the secondary wager circles 65 of their player position 60.In the preferred embodiment, the secondary wager is voluntary and theprimary wager is mandatory. However, in alternative embodiments thesecondary wager may be mandatory. Once all of the wagers have beenplaced, the dealer deals two cards face up from a shoe 40 to at leasteach occupied player position 60. The shoe 40 is held by a cradle 30 andmay hold up to eight decks of cards. The dealer also deals two cardsfrom the shoe 40 to themselves, one face up and one face down. Theplayers then examine their cards and decide if they want an additionalcard or if they will stand. If they chose an additional card, the dealerwill deliver it from the shoe 40.

The operation of the shoe 40 and the cradle 30 will be furtherunderstood by examining FIGS. 2A and 2B. The shoe 40 has an opening 42that allows the dealer to retrieve a top card 44 from a deck of cards 45by sliding the top card 44 down a shoe ramp 46. The shoe ramp 46 meets acradle ramp 38 at its distal end. Preferably the cradle ramp 38 has asmall lip 54 at the top that prevents the shoe 40 from moving forward.The body of the cradle 30 may have one or more retaining walls 53 thatalso hold the shoe 40 firmly in place as well as a top surface 52 forsupporting the shoe 40. The cradle ramp 38 includes a viewing window 36.A high-speed video camera 34 as shown in FIG. 3 is positioned behind theviewing window 36 so that the face of the card 44 is briefly visible asthe dealer pulls the card across the viewing window 36. Using a camera34 such as CMT-120FPS-OV9281-C411 with a wide angle lens and a globalshutter sixty frames per second can be captured at a resolution of352×240. This assures that even a dealer pulling cards quickly acrossthe window 36 will capture several partial images of the card 44.

As seen in FIG. 3 , the camera 34 is in communication with a processor32 and an associated memory 33. The memory 33 permanently stores aprogram (not shown) executed by the processor 32 as well as pre-loadedimages of the cards used in the deck. The memory 33 also temporarilystores images capture by the camera 34. The program 31 monitors theimages produced by the camera 34 to determine when a card 44 has beenpulled and moves past the window 36. A left flap 57 may be installed sothat, absent a card, the camera 34 may be installed on the left wall ofthe cradle and has a static known background in its field of view.Having a fixed known background may aid the processor 32 to detect acard being drawn across the viewing window 36. A right flap 58 may beinstalled to prevent a dealer from pulling a card from the shoe ramp 46directly to him before the card proceeds down the cradle ramp 38 andacross the viewing window 36. Alternatively, a raised lip or similarobstruction may be used.

Once the program determines that a card 44 has been pulled, it utilizesa neural network form of artificial intelligence to examine the variousimages of the card 44 captured as it moved across the window 36. Theprocessor 32 passes the temporary images captured by the camera 34through the pre-trained neural network to determine the suit and rank ofthe card 44. The output value of the neural network is the predictionfor each temporary image, even though there may be several temporaryimages for a single card 44. Some of the temporary images may not beclear enough for the program to make a high confidence prediction. Ifso, that image may be ignored. The neural network is trained withhundreds of thousands of computer generated variations of playing cardrank and suit from several different card decks. Each generated imagemay have a slightly different angle, blur, lighting or visualobstruction to generate the best prediction model. Generally, the morevariations of training images used, the higher the confidence predictionwill be.

Once the rank and suit of the card 44 has been determined by theprocessor 32, the processor may send the data to a remote server (notshown). The remote server may be located in the casino's securityoffices. The processor 32 and the remote server are connected via anetwork pathway. Network pathway may comprise an Internet connection, awired or wireless local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN).Further, it may include additional servers, switches, data busses andother networking hardware for relaying the required data. By providingthe casino's security personnel with data related to the cards dealt andtherefore the cards remaining in the deck, security can monitor the gamefor cheating or advantage players.

In an alternative embodiment, the pre-loaded images may be stored in amemory associated directly with the remote server. In this scenario, theremote server uses a neural network program to determine the suit andrank of the card 44. The processor 32 merely transmits the imagescaptured by the camera 34 over the network pathway 90 to the remoteserver.

In either embodiment, the pre-loaded images, the temporary images andthe determination of suit and rank is preferably encrypted, as is alltransmissions between the processor 32 and the remote server. Theencryption prevents a player from illegally accessing the data and usingit to cheat. As an additional security measure, the determination ofsuit and rank may be delayed by the processor 32 for several seconds oreven minutes so that by the time the determination is made, the hand isover.

The cradle 30 may also include a small output device such as a smallscreen 28 intended for use only by casino personnel. The small screen 28is preferably under control of the processor 32 and typically indicatesthe state of the cradle 30, for example “ready” or “error.” Thisinformation could also be communicated using color coded LEDs or thelike. The small screen 28 may also be used during the initial set up ofthe cradle to display information such as the IP address of the cradle30, the number of the table 50 (e.g., BJ-10) or the number of decksplaced in the shoe. The cradle also may include one or more inputdevices such as a button 26. During regular use, the dealer may pressthe button 26 to indicate that a fresh deck has been placed in the shoe40. During the setup of the cradle 30, the button 26 may be used to setvarious parameters shown on a menu on the small screen 28.Alternatively, these parameters may be viewed and set using a networkinterface accessed at the remote server or some other authorized accesspoint.

Referring now to FIG. 4A an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention will now be discussed. Again the cards are dealt out of theshoe 40. However, the only component of the cradle 30 that is visiblefrom the level of the table 50 is the viewing window 36. The smallscreen 28 and the button 26 have been moved to the back side of thetable 50 so as to be easily accessed by the dealer. The remainingcomponents of the cradle 30 are located either below the table 50surface or remotely. The shoe 40 is positioned so that the shoe ramp 46is adjacent to the viewing window 36 such that when the dealer draws thetop card 44 it will naturally pass over the viewing window 36. To ensurethat the shoe 40 remains in the proper relative position to the viewingwindow 36, one or more feet 51 may be placed on the table 50 surface tohold the shoe 40 in place. Alternative means such as one or more magnetsor slots and grooves may be used to keep the shoe 40 in place.

Referring now to FIG. 4B another alternative embodiment of the presentinvention will be discussed. Unlike the prior embodiments, thisembodiment does not use a shoe. Instead, the dealer holds the deck inhis hand. The viewing window 36 is slightly larger and is placeddirectly below where the dealer would naturally hold the deck over thesurface of the table 50. In this embodiment the processor 32 would usethe camera 34 to capture images of dealt cards as the dealer pulls themoff of the deck in his hand over the viewing window 36. The processor 36may also monitor to determine if the deck is no longer being held overthe viewing window 36 and issue an audible or visual alarm to remind thedealer to properly position the deck.

In the previously discussed embodiments, the processor 32 may be used tomonitor the count of the remaining deck. When the deck count reaches adetermined point the processor 32 or central server may notify casinopersonnel that the deck is prone to advantage players as described inU.S. Pat. No. 9,514,614 issued to eConnect, Inc. and incorporated hereinby reference.

In addition to counting cards dealt so that players may experience anadvantage playing the remaining portion of the deck, players may also beable to use this information to their advantage when playing a freshlyshuffled deck through a method known as shuffle tracking. Shuffletracking is a technique that is used when a large deck is hand shuffledby a dealer. Because a deck with much more than 104 cards cannot beshuffled by a person all at once, the dealer must break down largedecks, such as 312 card six-deck decks into smaller units. Depending onthe methodologies used to shuffle this deck, it may be vulnerable toexploitation. For example, a six-deck deck may be shuffled by separatingthe deck into six approximately equal piles, arbitrarily denoted Athrough F. Each pile will be approximately fifty-two cards tall. Casinostypically want a standard policy for shuffling. This policy may dictate,for instance, that pile A is mixed with pile D and shuffled. Then pile Bis mixed with pile E and shuffled and stacked on the combined A-D pile.Then pile C is mixed with pile F and shuffled and stacked on the A-D andB-E combined pile.

The problem occurs when an observant player knows from the prior gamesthat certain piles have a count that is advantageous. For instance, if Ahad a plus two count and D had a plus four count, the combined pile ofA-D would have a plus six count and could be played as having a plusthree “true” count (the average of A and D for two fifty-two carddecks). If the A-D pile is placed at the beginning of the deck, theplayer may play the first hundred cards or so as having a plus threecount before the first card is even exposed. However, the presentinvention may be used to counter this practice as well. Rather thanhaving a fixed procedure for mixing the piles A-D, B-E and C-F, theprocessor 32 can calculate the approximate count of each pile as thehands are dealt. Once it is time for a hand shuffle of the entire deck,the processor 32 can determine the optimum pile mixing routine for abalanced new deck. This routine may be displayed to the dealer using thesmall screen 28. An example of how this may work in practice is shown inTable 1 below:

TABLE 1 SHUFFLE TRACKING NEUTRALIZED PILE PILE COUNT STANDARD COMBOSTANDARD COUNT REVISED COMBO REVISED COUNT A +2 A + D +2 + 4 = + 6 A + E+2 − 2 = 0 B −3 B + E −3 − 2 = −5 B + F −3 + 3 = 0 C −4 C + F −4 + 3 =−1 C + D −4 + 4 = 0 D +4 E −2 F +3

As demonstrated in Table 1, an unbalanced deck and the possibility ofshuffle tracking can be eliminated or minimized often by simply alteringthe procedures used for a standard hand shuffle. There may be otherinstances where this is not possible. For instance, if pile A has a +5count and every other pile has a −1 count, every combination of twopiles with A in it will have a +4 count (+2 true count) and all theother combinations of piles will have a −2 count (−1 true count). Insuch a situation, the processor 32 may alert the dealer that pile Aneeds to be split up and redistributed amongst some of the remain pilesbefore continuing.

In addition to using the data provided by the processor 32 to enhancesecurity, casinos and game designers may desire to use the data toprovide new and exciting wagering opportunities. In such an embodiment,the invention may actually aid players in counting the cards from thedeck while maintaining the desired house's edge. This may beaccomplished by altering the rules and/or payouts of the game inquestion as the count varies.

Again using black jack as an example there are a variety of rules thatmay be employed to alter the house edge. In a “standard rules” game ofblack jack using a deck made up of six standard 52-card decks (for atotal of 312 cards) the house edge against a player playing an optimalstrategy is 0.5%. The standard rules require: The dealer stands on all17s. The player may double down on any combination of his first twocards. The player may double down after splitting pairs. A black jackpays 3 to 2 and insurance pays 2 to 1. In addition to these standardrules, there are several common rules or exceptions that casinos mayemploy to increase their edge. These common rules and the effect onhouse edge are as follows:

Black jack pays 6 to 5 (+1.45%)

Dealer hits soft 17 (+0.2%)

Double down on 9-11 only (+0.09%)

Double down on 10 or 11 only (+0.22%)

No double after splitting pairs (+0.13%)

By monitoring the count, an advantage player may identify a situationwhere the house edge has changed from +0.5% to −1.0% for the next hand.However, utilizing the present invention, the casino could change therules for the next hand by changing the payout for black jack from 3 to2 (standard rules) to 6 to 5. This rule change would result in the houseedge being +0.45% (i.e. −1.0+1.45=0.45). If the casino deems 0.45% to betoo little edge, a second rule limiting the players' ability to doubledown to only two cards adding up to 9 to 11 (+0.09%), would return thehouse edge to 0.54%. Thus, although the advantage player has accuratelycounted the cards and identified what would normally be a profitablesituation, she is not able to capitalize on it by increasing her bet onthe next hand because the rules have changed accordingly. The ruleschanges listed above are merely exemplary and are not limiting. Anynumber of additional rules may be added.

In this embodiment, the processor 32 would broadcast the rule changes tothe video display 80. In addition, because there is no longer a dangerof the casino losing to advantage players, the processor 32 may alsopublish a dealt card history or count to the video display 80. The logicused by the processor 32 to adjust the rules is more clearlydemonstrated by the flow chart in FIG. 5 .

The game starts at step 600 when a new deck is shuffled and preferablyplaced in the shoe 40. At step 610 the processor 32 publishes what thecasino has set as the rules for the game by sending a signal to videodisplay 80. Once players have placed their bets for the next hand, thedealer deals the cards and the processor 32 identifies the cards as theyare drawn across the viewing window 36 at step 620. The hands arecompleted and the dealer makes the appropriate pay outs. At step 630 theprocessor 32 calculates the house edge for the next hand based on thecards identified in step 620 for all hands dealt since a new deck wasintroduced at step 600.

At step 640 the processor 32 determines if the deck meets the casino'sspecified standards to deal another hand. If the deck does not meet thestandards, the processor 32 may indicate that no more additional handswill be dealt from the deck by sending a signal to video display 80,small screen 28, and/or a speaker 50.

The standards to approve the deck may simply be a minimum number ofcards remaining. Prior to the present invention, the dealer would inserta “cut card” randomly in the rearward portion of the deck. The cut cardwould typically be a bright rectangular piece of plastic the same sizeas the playing cards in the deck. When the cut card was pulled from theshoe or otherwise dealt, it would serve to indicate the last hand dealtfrom the deck. With the present invention, the cut card can still beused or can be eliminated altogether. Where a cut card is still used,the processor 32 may recognize the cut card and automatically preparefor the insertion of a fresh deck into the shoe 40. The processor 32 maybe programmed to approve the deck at step 640 for so long as X cardsremain, where X is either pre-programmed or selected during the set upof the cradle 30. Alternatively, the processor 32 may randomly select anumber X between numbers Y and Z, where Y and Z are eitherpre-programmed or selected during the set up of the cradle 30. Therandom selection between Y and Z may be weighted toward either Y or Z.This would mimic the prior usage of a cut card.

The determination at step 640 may also take into account the count ofthe deck. In this manner, the casino may allow the deck to continue inplay for so long as the count is not too favorable to the player. Thismay result in more hands being dealt per deck, which translates intoless time spent shuffling, which translates into more hands dealt perhour. This is generally considered advantageous to the casino.

At step 650 the processor 32 determines if the minimum desired houseedge is still maintained based on the updated deck count. If the houseedge meets the minimum, no change to the displayed rules is necessaryand play may proceed directly to step 620. If the house edge does notmeet the minimum, the processor 32 updates the rules at step 660. Theprocessor 32 then may display the new rules at step 610. The processor32 may wait for an indication that a new hand has started, such as abutton press by the dealer or some other indicator, before showingplayers the new rules. This process will continue until the deck nolonger meets the minimum standards at step 640 and a new deck isintroduced to play.

Although the foregoing example dealt with changing the rules of the gameto affect the expected value of a primary wager, the present inventioncan also be used to offer secondary wagering opportunities. In thismanner, side wagers with payout ratios larger than what is possible withprior art games may be offered.

As an example, consider a black jack side bet, Diamonds and Deuces. Therules are simple. The player places a secondary wager in the secondarywager circle 65 prior to the deal of the hand. If the player receivesone or more deuces in their first two cards, they are paid out accordingto the following “standard” pay table, used when the deck is new and iscomposed of six 52-card decks, or 312 cards.

TABLE 2 STANDARD PAY TABLE PLAYER DEALER PROBABILITY $1 PAYS RETURN Two2 of Diamonds Black Jack in Diamonds 9.29562E−07 Progressive 0.092957178Two 2 of Diamonds Suited Black Jack 2.78869E−06 2001 0.005580164 Two 2of Diamonds Unsuited Black Jack 1.11547E−05 501 0.00558853 Two 2 ofDiamonds Any 0.000294303 126 0.037082223 2 Suited 2s Any 0.000927529 210.01947811 2 Offsuit 2s Any 0.00445214 11 0.048973535 One 2 of DiamondAny 0.035617116 9 0.320554044 One 2, non-Diamond Any 0.106851348 40.427405392 All other Any 0.851842691 0 1.00000 0.957619174As described in the pay table, the side bet has an expected return of95.76%, or a house edge of 4.24%. The Progressive prize in the pay tablehas an average value of $100,000.

However, this pay table may be adjusted by the processor 32 anddisplayed on the video display 80 during step 670. Therefore, for ahypothetical hand that starts exactly half way through the deck (i.e.,156 cards) where there is only two 2 of Diamonds remaining in the deckand three of all other relevant cards of identical rank and suit, thefollowing pay table may be displayed:

TABLE 3 POOR DECK PAY TABLE PLAYER DEALER PROBABILITY $1 PAYS RETURN Two2 of Diamonds Black Jack in Diamonds 2.52752E−07 Progressive 0.02527542Two 2 of Diamonds Suited Black Jack 7.58255E−07 Progressive 0.075826261Two 2 of Diamonds Unsuited Black Jack 3.03302E−06 20,001 0.060663435 Two2 of Diamonds Any  7.8669E−05 1,001 0.078747628 2 Suited 2s Any0.000744417 21 0.015632754 2 Offsuit 2s Any 0.003722084 11 0.040942928One 2 of Diamond Any 0.023986766 9 0.215880893 One 2, non-Diamond Any0.107940447 4 0.431761787 All other Any 0.863523573 0 0 1.000000.944731107As seen, the removal of just one Two of Diamonds makes the high valuewinning hands much more difficult to achieve. As a result, the playerscan be offered much greater prizes for achieving certain hands whileactually increasing the house edge from 4.24% to 5.52%. Of particularnote is that the player now may win the Progressive for having two Twoof Diamonds anytime the dealer has a suited black jack, even if the suitis not diamonds.

However, if instead of two Two of Diamonds, there are four Two ofDiamonds in the deck when the halfway hand is dealt, the following paytable may be used:

TABLE 4 RICH DECK PAY TABLE PLAYER DEALER PROBABILITY $1 PAYS RETURN Two2 of Diamonds Black Jack in Diamonds 1.51651E−06 Progressive 0.151652522Two 2 of Diamonds Suited Black Jack 4.54953E−06 201 0.000914456 Two 2 ofDiamonds Unsuited Black Jack 1.81981E−05 51 0.000928104 Two 2 ofDiamonds Any 0.000472014 26 0.012272358 2 Suited 2s Any 0.000744417 210.015632754 2 Offsuit 2s Any 0.005210918 11 0.057320099 One 2 of DiamondAny 0.047311828 6 0.283870968 One 2, non-Diamond Any 0.106451613 40.425806452 All other Any 0.839784946 0 0 1.00000 0.948397712As demonstrated, the presence of the extra Two of Diamonds makes it muchmore likely that the player will achieve a payout, even the Progressive.As a result, the value of certain pay outs had to be reduced in orderfor the house edge to remain relatively unchanged at 5.16%. Thesecalculations may be made by the processor 32 at step 660.

In instances where a progressive may be awarded or where certainoutcomes trigger a secondary or bonus game, as described in U.S. Pat.No. 9,662,563, incorporated herein by reference, it may be desirable toadjust the operation of the secondary or bonus game such that theaverage value awarded from the secondary or bonus game is altered. Suchadjustments may be preferable because they are less perceptible to theplayer in situations where high value hands are easier than normal toachieve. Conversely, if a hand that was previously ineligible for theProgressive prize becomes eligible, players will generally take noticeand have a heightened sense of excitement.

In addition to using data generated by the processor 32 to alter payoutsfor main games and bonus games, the processor 32 may be used to triggera bonus. In one embodiment, the processor 32 may randomly select twocards from the deck, any time these two cards are dealt within X cardsof each other, each player placing a wager may receive a payout. Thepresent invention may also be used to provide non-monetary bonuses suchas free meals, rooms, comps, etc. These may be paid as the result of aspecific wager or without the requirement of a wager. The number X ischosen so that the mystery payouts occur at the desired frequency. Thetwo cards used as the trigger may be shown to the players on videoscreen 80 or they may remain unknown. Variations are easily imagined,such as selecting three cards or a random number of cards. The number Xmay be randomly chosen as well. Once the trigger condition is met, theprocessor 32 would alert the dealer and players through the video screen80 and/or the speaker 50 or any other desired celebratory alarm.

The present invention may also be used to monitor the skill level,betting patterns and speed of play of the respective players at thetable. A casino may use this information to refine their player trackingdata and player rewards systems. For instance, two players may placeidentical bets, but may differ in how much the casino desires eachplayers' play. Player A takes ten seconds to make every decision andplays at 99% of theoretically optimal. Player B takes two seconds tomake every decision and plays at 80% of theoretically optimal. Forobvious reasons, the casino may desire to give player B additionalloyalty rewards, comps and other perks. The processor 32 may make use ofartificial intelligence to determine which players are likely requestingcards as cards are dealt by the dealer. Additionally, an overhead camera(not shown) effectively in communication with the processor 32 may alsobe added to the equipment already described to ensure that accuratemeasurements are being taken.

Other combinations, orders of operation, additions and modifications tothe foregoing may also be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. Thus, the foregoing should be considered illustrativerather than limiting the invention, which is defined only by thefollowing claims.

1. An improved casino table game utilizing a deck of playing cardscomprising: a processor operatively connected to a memory and a videodisplay; the memory storing a set of rules comprising an at least oneinitial rule and an at least one modified rule for the game, and theprocessor programmed to display the at least one initial rule on thevideo display at a start of the game; a means for determining a rankand/or a suit of each playing card in a group of playing cards that havebeen played after the start of the game and that may not be played in afuture round of the game, said determining means operatively coupled tothe processor; the processor programmed to replace the at least oneinitial rule with the at least one modified rule and to display the atleast one modified rule on the video display in response to the ranks orthe suits of the group of playing cards that have previously beenplayed.
 2. The improved casino table game of claim 1, wherein a paytable determines a payout for an at least one specific hand, and the atleast one initial rule and the at least one modified rule determine thepayout for the specific hand.
 3. The improved casino table game of claim2, wherein the table game is black jack and the specific hand is a blackjack combination comprising an ace and a face card or a ten.
 4. Theimproved casino table game of claim 3, wherein the at least one initialrule is that the black jack combination pays 3 to
 2. 5. The improvedcasino table game of claim 4, wherein the at least one modified rule isthat the black jack combination pays more than 3 to
 2. 6. The improvedcasino table game of claim 4, wherein the at least one modified rule isthat the black jack combination pays less than 3 to
 2. 7. The improvedcasino table game of claim 2, wherein the table game is black jack andthe specific hand is a hand combination other than a black jackcombination comprising an ace and a face card or a ten.
 8. The improvedcasino table game of claim 3, wherein the at least one initial rule isthat the black jack combination pays 6 to
 5. 9. The improved casinotable game of claim 4, wherein the at least one modified rule is thatthe black jack combination pays more than 6 to
 5. 10. The improvedcasino table game of claim 4, wherein the at least one modified rule isthat the black jack combination pays less than 6 to
 5. 11. An improvedcasino table game utilizing a deck of playing cards, where each playingcard has a face and a back, comprising: a processor operativelyconnected to a memory and a video display; the memory storing a neuralnetwork set for identifying the face of each playing card, a set ofrules comprising an at least one initial rule, and an at least onemodified rule for the game; the processor programmed to display the atleast one initial rule on the video display at a start of the game; acamera operatively connected to the processor and positioned to view theface of the playing cards as they are played; the processor programmedto receive images from the camera and use the neural network todetermine a rank and/or a suit of each playing card in a group ofplaying cards that have been played after the start of the game and thatmay not be played in a future round of the game; the processorprogrammed to replace the at least one initial rule with the at leastone modified rule and to display the at least one modified rule on thedisplay device in response to the ranks or the suits of the group ofplaying cards that have previously been played.
 12. The improved casinotable game of claim 11, wherein there is a shoe for containing anddistributing the deck of playing cards and the shoe comprises a rampdown which the playing cards move face down; a window located proximateto the ramp; the camera is positioned below the window so that thecamera can view the face of the playing cards when they travel down theramp and across the window.
 13. The improved casino table game of claim12, wherein a pay table determines a payout for an at least one specifichand, and the at least one initial rule and the at least one modifiedrule determine the payout for the specific hand.
 14. The improved casinotable game of claim 13, wherein the table game is black jack and thespecific hand is a black jack combination comprising an ace and a facecard or a ten.
 15. The improved casino table game of claim 14, whereinthe payout associated with the at least one initial rule is greater thanthe payout associated with the at least one modified rule.
 16. Theimproved casino table game of claim 14, wherein the payout associatedwith the at least one initial rule is less than the payout associatedwith the at least one modified rule.